Who Were the Wise Men, Really? | The PursueGOD Truth Podcast

In response to Jesus, the Wise Men gave him generous gifts while holding nothing back. Join us this week as we discover who these wise men really were!<br />
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I think there are 2 kinds of ppl who come to church around Christmas<br />
Ppl who are very familiar w/all Christmas stories in Bible<br />
Ppl whose experience of Christmas has been a lot more secular<br />
The kind of thing you get in stores / at school<br />
In the popular Christmas movies that we rewatch every year<br />
This series is for everyone, but especially for those who feel far from God<br />
Because the people who were actually there on the first Christmas<br />
Were not the people anyone would have expected<br />
Last week we saw the surprising inclusion of the shepherds in the Christmas story<br />
They were loners and losers, on the outside of society<br />
Yet God broke his 400-year silence and declared the Good New first to them!<br />
Today: another shocker<br />
The story of the “wise men” or “magi” <br />
Maybe you thought it was normal, natural<br />
They’ve always been a part of the Christmas story<br />
But actually, it makes no sense in its worldly context<br />
Today we’ll answer two questions:<br />
Who were the magi, and why are they in the Christmas story? What were their three famous gifts all about?<br />
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Matthew 2:1-2 (NLT) 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”<br />
First of all, a few trivial facts:<br />
Only mentioned in Matthew<br />
Never says there were three of them (We three Kings…)<br />
Most likely not kings (astrologers is a better translation, as we’ll see)<br />
In Jerusalem because that’s where they would have expected to find a king<br />
(IVP Bible Background Commentary: NT, Second Edition) The Magi had come to Jerusalem because that was where they expected to find any Judean king—but Herod had apparently not had any new sons lately.<br />
Probably alludes to Nu 24:17: "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel."<br />
Bigger question: who were the Magi?<br />
Likely pagan Zoroastrian priests or scholars from Persia, skilled in astrology and prophecy.<br />
Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest continuously practiced religions, originating in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) around 1200–1000 BCE. <br />
One of the world's first monotheistic or dualistic religions.<br />
Dualism: A cosmic battle between good and evil, with human beings playing a central role.<br />
Moral principles: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds as the path to righteousness.<br />
Today primarily found in Iran, India (Parsis), and the global diaspora.<br />
Estimated at 100,000–200,000 adherents worldwide.<br />
(Here’s where it...<br />
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/24609106?utm_source=youtube